Citizens in Serbia were shocked by two separate incidents of mass shootings that occurred within less than 48 hours last week, resulting in 19 deaths, including children, and about 20 wounded. The first incident, which took place in a primary school in Belgrade, was carried out by a minor while the second event took place in an area near Belgrade and was classified by the government, as a terrorist attack.
Society in Serbia immediately after the incidents advocated urgent steps, such as raising the number of police officers in schools, amending the Law on Arms and Ammunition, and amending the Criminal Code. President of Serbia, suggested that he asked the Prime Minister Brnabic to introduce death penalty in which case she refused. As much as this sounds ridiculous, it serves him a political purpose. Changes demanded in the law on small arms and light weapons include monthly and annual medical exams that are required, as well as drug and alcohol testing that is required for anyone who is authorized to own small arms and light weapons including recreational and , even hunting rifles.
For the second time following the shootings, tens of thousands of people marched through Belgrade on Friday. They chanted in front of the presidency and the government that they deplored the populist president Aleksandar Vucic and wanted the resignation of the Interior minister, Bratislav Gasic and director of BIA Aleksandar Vulin. In an effort to “bring light to Serbia,” protesters who were shocked by the recent incidents, blocked the main road by turning on the lights of their phones.
Meanwhile, President Vucic has criticized the protesters, accusing them of obstructing the free movement of residents. He has also accused opposition leaders of taking advantage of the tragedy to incite citizens to protest. Although Vucic claimed that only 9,000 citizens gathered to protest on Friday, the actual number was likely much larger as reported by pro-government media. This suggests that Vucic may be anxious about growing discontent towards his leadership and the potential for protests to intensify.
Arguably, Serbian society has been cultivating a culture of violence for decades. President Vucic himself surfaces with video of addressing the Serbian Parliament in the early 90s during the war in Bosnia claiming that for every killed serb, they (Serbs) will kill hunderd muslims (Bosnians). Threats, hate and inciting violence is part of daily narratives in Serbian media as well which helps cultivating culture of violence. Growing up hearing applause for the brutality crimes committed in neighboring countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina and later in Kosova, by the Serbian police, military and paramilitary units, itself is problematic experience for new generations that now justify violence. In 2021, a video of children chanting songs where they invite for genocide against Albanians surfaced in internet. Nobody was held accountable.
For years, nationalism and hate speech against other peoples have been prevalent in Serbia’s state-controlled media and continue to this day. A 2017 report revealed that Serbia has the second-highest number of illegal weapons in the hands of citizens worldwide, a legacy of the unregulated import of weapons during the conflicts of the 1990s. Furthermore, Serbia has a large number of former combatants who possess weapons and lack psychological support from the state.
Despite government efforts to control the illegal weapons and establish ownership records, they have been largely unsuccessful in identifying and regulating the large number of weapons in the hands of citizens.
It remains to be seen If the drastic decisions on armaments control in the Serbian state will be implemented by the Serbian government and President Vucic. One thing is certain: the recent tragedy and the government’s response to it will be met with harsh criticism from the populace, which will make it harder for the government and President Vucic to hold into power. Pointing out that there were significant protests in Belgrade a year ago in support of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
One glimpse of hope has been seen on the horizon now. Former hooligan groups of Partizan fan club, supporting hateful and genocide denying Ratko Mladic with murals and graffitis, painted over the infamous Serbian general who was convicted of violations of laws of war, genocide and crimes against humanity particularly related to Srebrenica massacre and Siege of Sarajevo. Instead, they painted a slogan against TV Pink which fed hateful narratives and invited a notorious politician accused of his inflammatory speeches and instigation of Serb forces to commit crimes in the 90s, to analyze and comment on the current violence.
